The Step-by-Step Guide to Photo-Offset Lithography Book

Only The Beatles could come up with Apple Corps Ltd - with the idea being they would not just have a creative outlet and greater ownership for their own music, but also offer sponsorship, artistic development, and a veritable home for other artists of all varieties. It was 1968, a time of hope, and sadly also a time of bitter divisiveness; when youth makes you wise, and fame gives you access to the press, but musical genius doesn't make you diplomatic. Reading this book now reminds me how brilliant, yet naive, The Beatles were then; the press swarmed like hyenas and the headlines were brutal.

This book is really a diary of one of Apple Corp's employees, Richard DiLello. The so-called American "house hippie," DiLello started as a marketing (lower-than) aide and, thanks to serendipity, ended up head of press relations, with the variety of functions that entailed. Unfortunately this book is indeed a document of the day to day, lacking rigor, outside context, or the editing necessary to increase accuracy. Often actual dialogue is provided, but as it's unlikely that was documented in detail at the time, including it only increases the book's dubious and casual relationship with accuracy. For example, I'm not clear about all the players, but I know there were more Hell's Angels than the specified two that showed up at HQ, so I'm sure there are a few other key incidents we're missing from the story.

DiLello does provide gossipy, if disjointed, haphazard and unverified, insight into the day-to-day operations of Apple Ltd, leaving you with the impression that the majority of the staff was drug-addled daily. (If you've never worked at a start-up, this book is a cautionary tale of how things can go south quickly without fiscal management by grownups.) After documenting DiLello's layoff, the book includes news clips on the break up of The Beatles and the resulting court case. And, at the end of the book, you'll find a handy Beatles list of key events by date, a discography, and filmography.

It would take some effort to document the story of Apple Ltd, and the amazing experiment the original concept represented. This book didn't go to that effort. It's a beginning, from the perspective of stocking the liquor cabinet and drug usage. And it gives you an idea of the parasitical types The Beatles attracted, and hired. What the book does get across is the atmosphere of chaos, and helps you understand why The Beatles would want to get away from Apple and retreat to their own estates, their own interests, and ultimately part ways. I found it an incredibly interesting but sad read.

I should also mention my copy is the original cover, with a picture of The Beatles; the reissued cover imitating the Abbey Road album cover is quite clever.